Granite Digital's US$20 FireWire gender changers enable devices with permanently-attached FireWire cables to have their cable's reach extended in the event that the computer is too far away from where the device needs to be. A 6 pin to 6 pin changer should help with, for example, the Lexar Media FireWire CompactFlash and Microtech FireWire CameraMate card readers, both of which have non-removable FireWire cables. Use of the changer, and an additional length of cable, means that these readers can be placed closer to where they would optimally be used, in setups where the computer itself is buried deep under a desk somewhere. Note that extending the total cable length beyond about 15 feet may result in performance slowdowns or prevent the readers from working at all. For longer cable runs a FireWire repeater (usually about US$50) is a better choice.